Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1887-05-05
CHAPTER XIV.
WHEN 7 An GONE.

WHEN ] AN GONE.
October has come. bringing with it
fresh phase ofbeauty. The leaves are
brown and crimson now; they lie in
great heaps on the white high-road. in
the meadows, and along the lanes; the
number that has fallen from the great
oak-trees is something wonderful, and
yet they seem well covered. The roses
have died sweetest of deaths; in their
place stand the great hollyhocks and
the chrysanthemums; the days are
shorter, and the sun sets in clouds of
crimson.
This October is warm and bright,
summer seems 10 linger, while autumn
comes on apace, the nuts are ripe on
the trees, all the fruits and produce of
the meadows have been gathered in.
BY this time Lord Stair has grown
to be part and parcel of his work; he is
wrapped up in it, engrossed in it, thinks
of little else; spends his time in the
grand old library where the shadow of
the great oaks outside falls, and sees no
more of the shadow darkening his house
than does the little dreaming child
He sees bright faces, he hears the sound
of laughing voices, he feels a sense of
glad content that his wife should
have found a companion-that she en-
joys the society of his young kinsman;
as for danger, lie secs, fears, and dreams
of none. His sisters face is quite
serene and calm. She says no word
which may disturb the even tenor of
his ways; she says nothing now about
their being always together; she never
draws his attention to them in any way.
Ifby any chance he makes an inq uiry
as to where they are, her answer is al
ways given in tone of voice so entirely
matter of fact it would disarm even the
most Jealous of men, for Lady Perth,
with the true cunning Of wicked
woman, saw her way clearly now. 1t
had been a terrible blow TO her when
her brother married, but she saw in the
future that she need not fear, she would
always be mistress of Oakclitfe Towers.
She watched events with the same
fierce hungry silence as a cat watches
mouse. She would noe have uttere d
one word or raised one finger to save
Marguerite Lady Stair from utter de-
struction of soul and body.
On this bright October morning il
was Lady Perth who suggested walk
through the woods. ''Some one had
told her" so she said, "that nothing had
ever been seen like the magnificent
beauty of color in the autumn foliage.
You should go to see it, Darcy" she
continued, "before it is too late. There
could be no finer morning for a stroll
through the woods"
Her voice was kindly enough. her
smile gentle and indulgent, but the fire
that had once burned in the heart of
Judas burned now in hers.
'Sbould you like to 60 to the woods,
Lady Starr" asked Captain Este.
''Better than anything else in the
world" she replied with enthusiasm.
And Lady Perth smiled to herself.
"You must put on something warmer
than usual to-day" said Captain Este
to Lady Stair. "There is the slightest
touch of coming frost in the air."
sis there? That is just what / like!'
she cried
She went away to dress for the ex-
petition.
"what an excellent husband you
would make, Captain Este" said the
mocking voice of Lady Perth--"how at
tentive, kind, and careful you would
be-"
81 am sure | should, but there is no.
prospect of my having the part for many
long years to come, If ever at ALL"
IF the day should come, you will
play the part well-you have had
good"
But the sentence was never finished
At that moment LADY Stair returned;
she looked more beautiful than ever in
q picturesque costume of dark-bronze
velvet, just touched with fur; the large
hat, that shaded and softened her face,
added to her picturesque loneliness.
Even cold, hard Lady Perth looked at
her in wonder, and tho ught to herself,
how peerlessly beautiful the girl was
She watched them again as they crossed
the ground-he so brave and gallant,
she so young and fair; and she read
clearly enough how the land lay.
at will serve him right" she said to
herself, with q hard smile, "when the
time comes. and come it Wilt is not
very far off lie ought not to have
brought child like that home to set her
over me. When the time comes 1t will
not hurt me-"
There was space In these bonny
woods of Oakclifie called the clearing.
No one knew why, except that here
some of the great oaks had been felled,
and there was n square OF bright green
grass that, in summer, was always stud
ded with flowers. At times Ii looked
as though the blue sky had fallen on 1t,
so great was the number Of blue-bells;
then came the varied colors Of the field
anemones, now in the autumn great
scarlet creepers crossed the grass and
climed the sturdy oak-trecs. The silence
of grand cathedral aisle reigned there,
unbroken save by the wind in the trees
and the song of the birds.
They stood there now, the sun shining
on the beautiful colors, on the brown,
on the scarlet, the yellow, the russell of
che leaves; such mass OF foliage, such
b glory of colors. They stood against
. quaiat old wooden stilc, the wind roll